The Charms of Gryffindor
by Rylkan
Summary: An inescapable truth about war is that people die, but it is different when innocents die because you took a higher moral ground. The strength of one alone cannot stop this, but together they will try.
1. From Kisses to Tears

First I should get the normal introduction out of the way.

No, I do not own Harry Potter, if I did, I would be having a very serious identity crisis.

Next, I am not what one would call a Harry Potter fanatic, so you will have to excuse me if I make mistakes in my writing about the story. I am using this is a chance to practice my writing skills and to get this plot out of my head, which seems quite fun and interesting to me, and hopefully in the end, to you too.

For anyone who came here because of the rating level and the note that it has sexual content, that is not this chapter, or any chapter soon. Though, to be fair and warn those who are happy by their not being any, I will probably have it later in the plot when it fits story wise, and the characters mature a bit. But I will give fair warning about these scenes. Scenes of a violent nature will just appear at my whim, but I'll give you a free warning, there may be disturbing material in this chapter.

Finally, I would like you all to enjoy the writing. Yes, I would love you all if you could give me feed back so I can get better at writing, but mostly I want to give people something both I an they can enjoy. So, with that, onto the story.

Story begins in the middle of the "Half Blood Prince."

**The Charms of Gryffindor**

By: Rylkan

Harry went stiff when he saw Ginny walk in through the portal. Everyone was crowding around her and the rest of the Quidditch team, congratulating them on their victory, but Harry hardly acknowledged their presence as his attention was drawn to Ginny.

All the argument he had been supplying himself with for the semester seemed to be forgotten as he just watched her laugh and blush at the compliments people were throwing her.

He didn't even realize he had gotten up from his seat until he was halfway to her, and had he not been so overcome by his own emotions at the moment, he would of realized that what he was planning to do in front of all the other Gryffindor's was not the best of ideas.

Pushing past some excited second years, Harry stood in front of Ginny and saw how she beamed at him. "We did it Harry!" He ignored her words and instead placed his hand against her cheek and pulled her into a kiss.

It was nothing like his wet and awkward kiss with Cho. He could feel Ginny stiffen in surprise, but her lips were still so soft and full of flavor that he could of just kept kissing her in front of everyone for the rest of the evening, and he wouldn't care. It only took a moment though until Ginny pushed him away and slapped him so hard that he felt his ears ringing from the blow.

Tears were welling up in her eyes, fighting against her temper, and he almost expected a second blow to come again, but she just turned on her heel and went back through portrait hole. Though at the moment he just wanted to go find a corner and die from the embarrassment and the shame of hurting her, he still knew that if he didn't go after her, things would get worse. He got a few steps to the portrait before Hermione cut in front of him and kept him from going through.

"Harry. Let me talk to her, please don't take it the wrong way, but you're probably the last person she should see right now. I'll talk to her, all right?" Though he knew she was right, that wasn't what he wanted to hear, that she didn't want to see him. What had he been thinking to do something so stupid like that.

Hermione must of seen his reaction because she placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry Harry, I'll talk to her. But you might want to talk to Ron," nodding to Ron, he could see that his friend still looked gob smacked, though the color was quickly rising to his cheeks, the early warning signs of his temper taking hold of his reason. "I would recommend you do it away from everyone as well, Harry." With that, she left Harry standing in the middle of a whole bunch of confused Gryffindors.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he made his way over to Ron, and grabbed his arm, pulling the still stunned boy up the stairs and towards their dorm room. He could see Dean trying to come after them, the curiosity written over his face, but Neville grabbed his arm and pulled him back, nodding at Harry, showing that he would make sure they got their privacy. He would have to thank the boy when he got a chance.

Closing the door, Harry took a deep breath, half expecting to turn to see Ron ready to hex him, not to see him sitting on the edge of his bed, staring hard at Harry. He wasn't sure if he was more worried about this odd reaction out of Ron than the expected explosion he had been anticipating.

"Bloody hell Harry, couldn't you do that when I'm not in the room."

Harry's jaw dropped. Ron was not yelling at him about touching his baby sister, and though he wouldn't say Ron was happy about it, his not being angry at him was about as strange as if Voldermort had decided to take up baking cookies and helping old Muggle woman across the street.

"You mean you're not angry at me? We're still best mates even though I did that to Ginny." Ron raised an eyebrow at this, "To be truthful, if she hadn't hit you for forcing yourself on her like that, I would of. But yeah, we're still friends, just, give me awhile to cool off before we talk about it, all right?"

Harry wasn't about to ruin this streak of good luck. He wasn't sure why Ron hadn't hexed him into oblivion yet, but he wasn't going to push to find out right about now. Instead he just nodded and went to his bed, making sure to pull the curtains closed around him before casting a silencing charm inside of it. Now that the adrenaline from having to face down Ron had passed, he started to think about how Ginny had reacted.

He knew she had liked him in the past, but that was no reason to go on believing that she would still be willing to be with him now, years later. They had finally become friends after years of his ignoring her, and he had gone and ruined that in one moment of ill thought out passion.

Curling up into himself, Harry stared at the shadows of his other room mates coming in and out of his room as he tried to keep from thinking about the damage he had just wrought.

OoOoOo

Shutting the door behind her, Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. Madam Pince could be a downright dictator in her domain, but somehow she had kept her cool as she headed back to one of the unused studying rooms in the library. They had been bewitched to keep the students invigorated and calm while in there, a perfect place to study, yet with the Quidditch game having just ended, she was confident that she would have the place to herself.

Navigating her way through the cubicle like desks, Ginny turned the corner to head to the desks hidden in the far corner of the room and nearly screamed when she saw someone sitting there watching her. It took her mind a moment to recognize Hermione, and another moment before the frown came onto her face. As much as she loved the older witch, right now she just wanted to be alone. "You came close to being hexed there Hermione, and still are. Do you mind if I could be alone for awhile?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow but didn't budge. "Harry wanted to come look for you to apologize. I told him you probably wanted to not see him until you were ready."

So she had seen what happened, then. In the excitement of getting back, she hadn't been able to tell who was who among the mass of bodies, and she had hoped that no one she knew had seen it, even if they would of heard talk of it soon enough. Taking a seat next to the other girl, Ginny placed herself in the seat next to Hermione, putting her head down on her arms. She had been even angrier at not seeing Harry come after her, but like always Hermione was right, she didn't really want to see Harry right now, her feelings far too jumbled up to make sense of what she was feeling exactly.

Feeling Hermione place her hand on her shoulder was all it took to break her tenuous resolve. The magic spell of the room to help calm people only helping her enough that she cried silently into her own robes, the sound of Hermione's voice calming her, even if she didn't understand, or care, about the words at the moment.

Eventually the tears stopped, and the warm feeling of Hermione's magic cleaning her face of the dried tears and the small invigoration spell helped calm her. Muttering a thank you to Hermione, Ginny stared down into her lap, suddenly shy in front of the other girl now that she had seen her cry like that.

"You know," started Hermione, causing Ginny to look up, "I'm surprised it took him that long to do it, all things considered. He has been starry eyed around you all term, and if weren't for your brother and who he is, I would of expected him to jump you days ago." Hermione's voice was light, joking about it and hoping it would make her laugh, but as was normal with the older girl, she asked her in such a way that she had opened the door to make Ginny feel obligated to reveal her secrets.

Ginny didn't even know where to begin herself. "I used to really like him." Hermione nodded, she had already known this since long ago, but was polite enough to not say so. "I really liked him, alot. I know at eleven or twelve that seems silly, and I also can't help but laugh at how childish I was about it, but I did like him."

"Even if I was childish, I thought about him alot. Lot's of silly things, like going to the places I heard my brothers talk about in and around Hogwarts, even sometimes imagining how the name Ginny Potter or Harry Weasly would sound." Blushing, Ginny avoided looking at Hermione, afraid to see amusement of mockery in her eyes, even though she knew her friend wouldn't be that cruel about it.

"But even after being saved by him, I was ignored by him, or at best, just treated politely as his best mate's sister. I may have been silly, but I wasn't a fool, I knew that he didn't care about his friends shy little sister, and so I tried to get over him. I succeeded at it too. Not that I tried to only fool myself that I didn't care, but I really did get over my crush for him."

Sighing, Ginny looked up at the enchanted ceiling, watching a stray comet slowly march across the heavens. "Then we got to know each other. DA meetings last semester, talking on occasion in the common room, and then the trip to the Ministry. Talking him out of being a prat about us going to the Ministry felt good, like I finally got out all those years of frustration at him as well. I think that's when it started as well. I know you are smart enough to see where this is going by now Hermione, and even someone like me could tell at that time that I was falling into a trap. Between then and now we became better friends, and I started to really begin to like him again, and now we find ourselves here tonight."

Ginny looked over to see the other girl giving her a small encouraging smile. "So, you are afraid of being hurt?" Ginny nodded, "There is that. But I don't know why I reacted like that. I know he has changed, and god knows I am not scared to tell him off when he is being a prat, but I just can't be with him if he may just decide to try and put me on a pedestal and keep me safe from all danger. It's sweet, but I don't want him to push me away like I am some wall flower to be protected."

Hermione nodded and bit her lip before sighing, "He does have that problem, indeed. And if he likes you, he will probably want to keep you the furthest from danger. Merlin knows it's hard enough to get him to let me and Ron help him as friends. But Ginny, for your sake and his, can you forgive him and just see what happens? I know it's horribly unfair to ask you to do it, but you like him, and as you know, he isn't always stable. Bless his heart he is a wonderful person, but with everything he has gone through, that he showed any interest in romance is a good sign."

If it weren't so irritating at times, Ginny would have to admire how Hermione found ways to kill two birds with one wand. Though, in this case, it wasn't annoying so much as kind of sad that they had found themselves in this position. "I will Hermione. I gave up weeks ago trying to ignore how I felt for him, and even if it was a bit rude, I did enjoy what he did." Blushing, Ginny quickly stood up.

"Right then, I suppose the Gryffindor common room has calmed down a bit by now, and we should get back before curfew." Bless Hermione's soul for keeping her curiosity in check, for all she did was nod and walk back in silence with Ginny back to the dorms.

OoOoOo

Harry groaned when the light hit him. He had to squint in order to see Ron standing over his bed as he struggled to sit up a bit. "It's almost breakfast time, come on." With that, Ron left their dorm and headed to the common room. It seemed that he still wasn't particularly pleased with Harry, but at least he was in a good enough mood to not let him sleep through breakfast, which was a good sign.

Groaning again, he pulled himself out of bed and dragged himself through his morning routine of shower and cleaning up, struggling to keep from falling asleep as the warm water hit him. He wasn't sure how he intended to stay away through his classes today, having had trouble falling into any actual restful sleep the night before.

Finally Harry managed to drag himself into the common room, now empty as everyone, Ron included, had already made their way to the great hall for breakfast. Passing through the portrait with a brief thank you to the fat lady, Harry tried to keep his stomach from knotting up in worry about breakfast. There was a good chance that Ginny would already be down their, possibly eating with her friends, or even worse, breaking her fast with Hermione today.

He had almost reached the entrance to the great hall, still undecided on how long he could survive without going to meal times, when a voice from beside him cleared itself.

Harry lept away from the person and pulled out his wand from his sleeve, training the end of it on the amused face of Ginny Weasly. "Is this how you treat all the girls you end up snogging, Harry?" Her voice was light and joking, not in the least fazed by staring down the end of a wand. Lowering his wand, he tried to think of something to say in return, but all he could find was that any words he may have planned to have used were stuck in his throat.

Raising an eyebrow, Ginny just kept looking at him. She looked much better this morning, refreshed and showed no signs of the hurt and anger she had been sporting last night after what he had done to her. When she gestured to the nearby stairs and took a seat, he obediently sat down beside her, still silent, waiting for whatever punishment she had in store for him.

"First Harry, I want to apologize about last night. I shouldn't of reacted quite like that." Raising her hand to stop his objection, she continued. "But you weren't in the right either. I know you're sorry, and no, I don't want this to ruin our friendship. I like you, Harry, but right now I don't think you are quite ready for a relationship. Before you ask why, my saying so is pointless, so I want you to know that we're still friends, all right?"

Harry sat their slack jawed. She had laid it all out there simply and logically, but most importantly, she wasn't angry with him. He would of liked to know why she thought him not ready, but if he could have her friendship, than he would say to hell with his curiosity and pride.

"Good. But if you try that again, I will have to show you how the bat bogey curse really can be used." She grinned evilly at him as he started to smile back. They had managed to get over that awkward hurdle, and though it wasn't easy to be rejected, he wouldn't give up their friendship for all the quidditch and chocolate frogs in the world.

OoOoOo

The next few days, Harry didn't have much chance to see or talk to Ginny aside from meal times, when she would join Hermione, Ron, and himself on occasion, usually talking about her upcoming OWL examinations. Hermione had been happy to help her with any questions that had come up, and Ron had just thrown Ginny and Harry a few odd looks on occasion, but he too had already gone back to normal.

It almost seemed like a normal school life for Harry. Dumbledore had not called him for another special meeting about Tom, and even Snape seemed to be on good behavior at the moment. After all the strange things that had been happening lately, the chance to enjoy his school time with friends was a much needed balm for his soul. He had pushed them too far away last year with his unpredictable moods, but lately they had gone back to the good old days, before Voldermort had come back into power.

He wasn't sure how long it could last, but he intended to enjoy every moment of it.

OoOoOo

The cool redwood wand was held loosely in her hand, the tip waving between the two figures in their bed, unaware of what was about to happen. She could feel the magic in the wand resonating inside of her, the feeling of plunging head first into deep cold water. It was an intoxicating feeling to have such power, something so wonderful should never be tainted by the filthy muggles and muggleborn.

How people like these two could exist, people who would want to save those animals who claimed to be civilized creatures without magic, infuriated her. It was like taking a perfectly good broom and handing it to someone who would break it in half without a thought as to the quality of the item in their hands.

They had already suffered so much for the muggles, but that wasn't enough in her mind. Though, she knew torturing them would only bring attention, unwanted attention that would earn her master's displeasure. She had learned long ago to never earn her master's anger if it could be helped.

"I guess I am doing you two fools a favor after so long." A green light began to glow at the end of her wand, illuminating the look of sheer loathing and madness on her face.

"Avada Kedavra", she whispered, and dissapperated.

OoOoOo

Fire was such a beautiful thing. With the aid of magic, one could easily fool the foolish muggles into believing that it happened due to an accident. A range that had been left on, a gas leak, whatever they wanted to imagine, so be it. He had already taken care of the people inside, burning them alive before the house, so as to not risk the slightly more intelligent Muggle trash coming along and asking questions.

It pleased him to see people like these die. They were the sources of so many problems in the wizarding world. Giving birth to filthy mud bloods. He couldn't decide which was worse, that their existed witch's and wizards who came from muggles, or that magic could be mocked so much as to of come from such ordinary creatures.

Serving Voldermort, while painful at times, let him maintain the purity of magic from people like this who would seek to dilute it's greatness. Even if he were a pawn in this war, he enjoyed destroying those less than pawns, the pieces that didn't even deserve to have a place on the board.

He watched as the Muggle fire trucks came up and tried to put out the blaze, moving forward to join the crowd of onlookers, letting a look of concern and shock bleed onto his face.

Oh yes, how wonderful it was to have his master back.

OoOoOo

Since the return of the Dark Lord, Arthur Weasly's life had become almost unbearably busy. His office now saw up to a dozen cases a day sometimes, and each one just as bad, and on occasion, worse than the last. He had seen some of the most ingenious ways to cause harm to muggles lately, knives that poison food, televisions that stole their intelligence. If it weren't so dangerous, he would have to admire the skill of someone who could come up with such charms.

Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and started putting away some paper with a few flicks of his wand. If the ministry actually were to help him more, he was confident that he could stem the flow of all these items, but the ministry had stated quite bluntly, that they were focused on getting the wizarding community through this. Even though it was one of their own killing the muggles, people who had little means to fight against magic, they would leave them to fend for themselves.

He understood why they said it, and knew that it would indeed be hard for them to protect muggles as well, but even so, it was the right thing to do, and as such, he would have to pick up the slack where the ministry had failed.

Applying a locking charm to his desk, Arthur left his office and headed towards the lift's to take him to where he could apparate home. He had put in a long day at the office, and Molly had been begging for him to take a break. She knew as well as he did that he couldn't do that, but bless her heart she wanted to make sure he stayed healthy and well through these harrowing times. He figured he could stop in by the nearby town and pick up a Muggle cake for his wife. Something nice to share with her that she wouldn't have to work to enjoy.

Smiling to himself, he nodded to the guard on duty as he entered the ward, quickly focusing on a spot far outside the town, but along a rather nice road he had found by the woods. Something to help him relax after a long day. Making his way into town, he nodded politely at the muggles in town, and even stopped to talk to a few fellow witches and wizards in the area he happened to pass. Cake in hand, he headed up the hill towards his house, eyes closed and humming happily to himself.

He only looked up when he felt the powerful backlash of released magic hit him. It took a sheer force of will to not be sick at the release of such an amount of magic, and the only things in the area with that much power were wards, wards like the old wards placed around the burrow.

Forgetting the cake, Arthur ran up the hill towards the burrow, fighting the stitch in his sides as he rushed to see what had happened. If there was too much wild magic flying around, apparating would be a bad idea, but he felt as if it were taking forever to run the last 100 yards to the crest of the hill.

When he did top the hill, the sight that reached his eyes was enough to make him want to faint. His house was destroyed, pieces of the burrow lying around in various places, possessions strewn across the yard, burnt and broken. But he didn't take not of any of this as he saw what was going on in the front yard.

On the ground lay Molly, her eyes staring sightlessly up into the sky, her body having gone rigid from the killing curse she had suffered, and around her were the forms of death eaters. Their black robes hiked up as they raped the corpse of his wife, their laughter showing that they knew that she was already dead, but enjoying the power it gave them none the less.

Something snapped in Arthur then. Even in the first war, he had never been on the front lines, never one to take a life, no matter the deed done by the person, instead wishing they live to regret their mistake. At this moment though, there was only murder in his eyes.

Pulling his wand out, he cast a spell at the four death eaters to knock them back. With the force of his emotions, he sent them flying into the nearby trees, their bodies hitting them as they lay stunned at their roots. Flicking his wand to what he assumed used to be a piece of the roof of his house, he brought it high into the air, and down upon them, killing them instantly.

Rushing to Molly's side, he knelt down beside her, and saw the look of terror that had crossed her face in the last moments of her life. The tears still trapped in her now unseeing eyes, tears that Arthur shed for her as he collapsed sobbing on top of his wife's body.

OoOoOo

Dumbledore had seen many horrible things in the hundreds of years he had been alive, and while he did not feel he was a callous man, he had long ago felt that he had shed most of his tears over the death's of others.

Yet still, the tears streamed down his face as he heard the news that had trickled in over the past few hours. Arthur Weasly had been found lying over the corpse of his wife after the Ministry had gone to investigate a spike in magical energy at their home. The bodies of the death eaters who had destroyed the wards and the burrow had been found crushed underneath part of the home. It was being put down that they had died when part of the house had collapsed on them in their over zealous destruction of the home, but all involved knew this was to spare Arthur the need to appear before a court for his actions. Though he would not be held accountable, it was clear what they had been doing to Molly before her demise and no one felt Arthur should have to go through reliving that until he was ready to do so.

Still, this was not the only news that worried Dumbledore, and though the others had been less extravagant, they had been just as horrible. News had reached him through the order that three other murders had taken place. The first being a killing curse at Mr. Lovegood, the father of a Luna Lovegood, a fifth year student in the ravenclaw house. The other two, the Longbottoms and the Grangers, had also been reported as being the victims of death eater attacks.

Pouring himself a glass of fire whiskey, Dumbledore slowly slipped on the liquid, feeling the liquid try to warm his insides as he listened to Fawkes sad mourning chirps from his perch. In all his years, he had rarely felt this old, rarely felt that he could offer so little stability and guidance to the younger generation, than he did right now.

Yet now stood the hardest task of the evening, approaching his office at this very moment. It had just gone past curfew, yet he had sent Minerva to gather the students involved, as well as young Harry. He would have to explain to them what had happened, and he knew not the words needed to dull the pain that would strike them all.

Yet despite the pain of the children of those dead, the one that worried him the most was Harry. The boy possessed a great deal of intelligence, though often wasted in his studies, and would see the pattern to the attacks immediately. All those who had helped him in his fifth year raid on the ministry had been targeted in some manner or another, the death of his friends loved ones who cause him to feel that he had done them a great wrong and would distance himself from them. In this time of need, he would need all the help and stability he could get, yet Tom had made his move to remove this from Harry's life, to weaken him and isolate him, to make the war easier.

Raising his glass he gave a toast. "Well played Tom, well played. I had hoped to save Harry some pain, and focused so on him and his friends that you took me from where I was blind."

After a moment of silence sipping on the drink, the gargoyle down below his office moved aside, signaling the arrival of the students. Sighing, Dumbledore put down the glass and conjured some couches, and cast a charm over the room to help calm the occupants. Not so strong as to be noted that he was trying to manipulate them, but strong enough that it might help his guilt that he could not help them beyond this as their worlds were about to come crashing down around them.

OoOoOo

Though they had done their share of rule breaking in the past, Hermione was unsure as to why McGonagall had come rushing into the common room to shepherd them to Dumbledore's office. Neither Ginny nor Neville managed to get into trouble often, and even more rarely have the trouble to do with her Ron and Harry. Seeing as how they had managed to avoid any trouble for the past few months as well made her question the reason for the call even more. The only real tie between them that would register greatly with the headmaster would be their involvement in the DA and the trip to the ministry.

When she saw Luna waiting by the gargoyle with Professor Flitwick near Dumbledore's office, Hermione knew she had been right. There was something involving their ministry escapade, or something involving Harry that the headmaster intended to discuss with them. Though judging by the grim expressions on Professor Flitwick's normally jovial face, and the even harder lines of Professor McGonagall, Hermione fought back an attack of nerves.

Looking at Harry, he gave her a small nod and a strained smile before knocking on the door of the office. "Professor, you wanted to see us?" It took a moment before they heard Dumbledore's voice come through the door telling them to enter. The place seemed bigger and much more cozy than she remembered, seeing that couches had been added to the room, and a nice relaxing fire was burning near them. It was quite the counterpart to the idea one normally had of being called into the Headmaster's office, and she was sure that that was in part Dumbledore's intention, to put them at ease.

Rising from his desk, Dumbledore walked over to them and led them to the couches, guiding them into a seat, place Hermione next to Ron as Ginny and Harry took another couch while Luna and Neville the third. Taking his own seat, he took a deep breath and turned to look at them all. The usual sparkle and merriment that danced in his clear blue eyes seemed lost tonight, a gray color over taking the normal blue and giving it the look of a rainy day.

"What I must speak to you six about is something that I most earnestly wished to have never of come true, but alas, I seem to of wished upon something that was not to be true. Before I tell you of the news, I must ask you all that you will please listen to the entirety of what I have to say. Painful though it may be, as much as you do not wish to hear more, I must finish what I have to say before you begin to mend your wounds. So I must ask, will you please grant me this wish, not for me, but for your own benefits?"

Looking between themselves, surprisingly it was Neville who spoke for the group first. "You act as if we have suffered a great loss, Headmaster. I can't promise for the others, but I would wish to know what you have to say. Please." Hermione nodded with the rest, whatever the bad news, they had gone through much the past few years, and though it may be painful, to shirk the truth was not her way of dealing with life. Seeing the others nod as well, the headmaster breathed a deep sigh before conjuring some warm cups of tea, keeping them afloat of each person. "Please, take a sip before I begin, to calm your nerves."

She knew it must be bad news indeed for the headmaster to keep stalling like this, and to go to such lengths to try and keep them calm and comfortable, and if she wasn't mistaken about it now that she looked for it, she could sense that a charm had been placed on the room to keep them relaxed. A much stronger version than those that dotted the castle in some places. Taking a sip of the tea, she could feel the warm liquid relaxing her body, and she was surprised at his skill. He had not only managed to conjure a tea, but it seemed to have a mild potion to relax them as well. Placing the cup on a nearby table, she saw that Ginny and Harry seemed to be having the same thoughts as she, whereas Ron and Neville looked confused, and Luna was, well, Luna, about the whole thing.

Once they had all taken a sufficient amount of the drink, they watched as Dumbledore fiddled with his wand. "I first must remind you, that the moment Voldermort came into power, that much would be lost before we could all find happiness in the end. Earlier today, he has reminded us about how much some of us may have to lose before we can once again find peace and stability in our world once more. Over the past hour I have received reports of attacks made by death eaters against the Lovegoods, Longbottoms, Grangers, and the the Weasley's. I am so deeply sorry, but the first three families were all killed, and of the Weasley's, Molly too, had her life taken from her."

Whatever she had been expecting, news of Voldermort doing something horrible was something she had expected, but not this. Her mother and father, dead? Mrs. Weasley, a woman who had treated her like another daughter and gave someone not of her flesh so much love, dead as well? She could feel the tears and sobs rising up, but before they reached her throat, she felt the weight of a body binding spell overtake her.

Sitting there, Dumbledore put his wand down and stared at them. "I am sorry I had to do that, but it is essential you hear these next words before you begin your much deserved grieving. When I prepared to face Grindelwald, I had to face much of the same things that Harry is facing right now, one of which was the dividing of my friends and comrades in arms. I know that you have figured out the pattern to the attacks, Harry, and though my words to you to not blame yourself may be in vain, please know that at the heart of this, it was the workings of a very twisted, albeit genius, mind. I cannot make you lose your guilt, nor can I tell the rest of you that you do not blame Harry in anyway for this, but please, realize that he has done nothing but be a friend to you, and that they have always been by your side Harry, by their own choice. It was not you who asked Tom to mark you, and to allow his doing so to alienate you from others would destroy all power you have to stop him from causing this pain to others once more."

Dumbledore took a moment to give them all a glance, perhaps trying to give them a little comfort as they struggled to absorb what he was saying and to handle the grief. "I do have one way to keep you and your remaining family safe, however. To Voldermort, this was his key moment to break Harry, and if we keep him from knowing what he has accomplished, then we may buy some time. He is horribly afraid of the unknown, yet he is also very smart. He will not move until he is sure of what Harry is capable of after this, and he will not hurt more people related to Harry if he can wait to use them to best effect. At the moment, I have a place for all of you to go, to prepare for this war, and to keep your families safe as you do so. When you have finished sorting through some of your feelings, please, come to me in my study. As it is, I wish I could do more, but I know that words mean little when the heart pains you so."

With that, Dumbledore slowly rose out of his seat and entered the door to his study in the bak of the room, and as he left, the spell he had woven fell apart, and so did Hermione's resolve. Turning into Ron, she let the tears fall down her face for her family that she had lost, and the pain her friends were going through.

OoOoOo

His breath came in pants and his mind reeled as Harry fought to keep the tears that threatened to come out from doing just that. Instead he sat there, his whole body numb as he slowly stroked Ginny's hair while she cried into his chest. The moment Dumbledore's spell had been released, Ginny had trapped him in her embrace, using his body as a support as she let her tears fall.

He had wanted to leave, to run away from his friends before he would have to experience their hateful looks, the eyes that told him that it was really his fault that their families had to die. Yet he couldn't bring himself to leave Ginny when she was obviously in need of someone. Though a nasty little voice in his head told him how ironic it was that she chose to find comfort from the one that caused her this grief.

It wasn't bloody fair that his simply wanting friendship had caused them to have to go through this pain. No matter what Dumbledore said, why would someone like him even deserve to have friends if all he did was cause them and those they loved to become targets, just to reach him. Maybe Dumbledore had used a spell on him, but he couldn't ignore what the old man had said. How was it his fault that they had been targeted, beyond contact with their family. He had enough guilt already, but he wouldn't take the guilt that the murderers should be feeling for their actions.

All around him were his friends, broken in more ways than one as their worlds had been destroyed, and here he would not show them that the person who was supposed to exact revenge for all these horrible actions was weak enough to cry. Even Luna was sightlessly staring at the opposite wall, hand entwined with Neville's own pale one, her normally spaced expression twisted into silent sobs at the loss of her father.

If he could stop this from happening to others, he would sacrifice everything that was his to give in a moment to do so. Even his friendship. He would go with his friends like Dumbledore asked, and he and they would grow strong enough to survive this war, but only he would defeat Voldermort. The moment their hiding was over, he would have to find a way to leave them behind to go end it without exposing them to danger. Until then, he would devote himself to becoming as powerful than Dumbledore, or any wizard that had been alive or was yet to be.

Feeling Ginny move in his arms he saw her looking up at him, her face red from her sobs and eyes bloodshot from the tears. He smiled down at her, and stroked her hair while he absent mindedly spoke to her, trying to soothe her pains. In a moment she had gone back to her crying in his chest, now stronger than before, and he held her tightly.

He would become everything needed to make sure that his friends, people like Ginny, who had never caused anyone true harm, had to suffer such sadness again.

OoOoOo

It had been close to three hours before they had filed into his study, their expression's sober and the haunted look he had come to see so much of in the both his own war again Grindelwald and the first war against Voldermort, present in their eyes.

Gesturing with his wand, Dumbledore cast a spell to clean their clothes and faces of their tears, and giving them each a slight invigoration spell. There was no easy road to recovery from grief Dumbledore had learned, but trying to keep the body as comfortable as possible while the mind dealt with it's grief was a small gesture of compassion he could show them.

"Please, do sit. I know you have had a very hard night, but there is still much we have to discuss, and I fear we do not have the time for you grieve like you should be allowed to do so before some business is attended to." Silently, the group took to the chairs, sitting heavily into the chairs, still drained from their tears and their sorrow.

Though, strangely, Harry alone seemed alert. Listening attentively to what Dumbledore would have to say to him where the others were lost in their own thoughts unless spoken to.

Dumbledore sighed, he had feared that Harry had made his choice already, and one influenced by the grief he and his friends had experienced. He could only trust in Harry's good judgment that it had been the right one, or that the boy would learn like he had, about the error in pushing others away.

"I assume you all have come to hear about my plan, then?" In truth, he had heard Harry address the group through the study door that they should go hear what Dumbledore wished to speak to them about. Yet he waited for their affirmation before going ahead, unsure of how his pushing too hard would cause them to react at the moment.

"As I have already said, I have a way in which to hide all of you, and prepare you for the war to come." Leaning forward, Dumbledore fixed Harry with a piercing gaze and placed his chin upon laced fingers.

"I would like to enroll all of you into Hogwarts."

**End Chapter 1**

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I have not had time to edit the chapter much, and hopefully it is clear of any large grammatical or spelling errors. I also have not done this due to my own innate dislike for my writing. So if anyone wishes to send me things I should change, either in terms of grammar or an unclear portion, I am more than happy to fix it. If I have made a mistake with story or something doesn't seem to fit personality wise, also feel free to email me. I may not change it (such as I am horrible at writing angst, or in other words, Harry's fifth year.)

So please give me feedback, that way it may be possible to make a better story for all of us in the end.

I also have this story on Just so there is no confusion.


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts

Thankfully. this story hasn't taken off yet, I haven't received death threats over what I did to the parents. I know it was a bit morbid, but in war, a lot of horrible things happen.

Still, here is the next chapter. It is not very long, as I meant to put this with the first chapter to release it at over ten thousand words, but unfortunately, I thought I wouldn't have time to finish this soon, but somehow this just came out quickly, so I am posting it now. If this is on you can ignore most of this, since I will most likely merge this with what will be chapter three on due to the long wait to upload files.

Again, I hope you all enjoy my humble story.

I do not own Harry Potter, I am much poorer than such things like that.

**The Charms of Gryffindor**

By: Rylkan

Harry took a moment to absorb what Dumbledore had told him, looking at it from every angle in his mind, before at his his answer. "What're you play at Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled at Harry then Hermione. " As Ms. Granger is so apt to always give praise to Hogwarts. A History' I am sure she is quite familiar with the rift that formed between the founders near the completion of the school. As you all know, Salazar felt that the school should be a haven for those pure of blood in the wizarding world, and when this did not happen, he constructed the chamber of secrets. Now I ask Ms. Granger, have you any clue as to what the other founders did in retaliation against such a bold and, pardon my language, bigoted move against Muggle born students?"

Everyone turned their gaze on Hermione as she sat there, sorting through her encyclopedic memory before coming up with an answer. "No book ever mentioned anything, sir. Though, I suppose if the Chamber had meant to be secret to only the heir, it might make sense to not bring attention to it by keeping their own contributions secret too, I suppose."

"Very Good Ms. Granger, again you demonstrate why your reasoning has earned you a title of one of the smartest witches of the age." Hermione's cheeks reddened a bit, though given the circumstances, she did not seem to inflate with as much pride as Harry would of expected at the Headmaster giving compliment.

"Indeed. The others did contribute to the school in their own ways, preferring to keep them kept as a secret so that the true depth of the rift that had grown between the three and Syltherin would be overlooked by their accomplishments in creating this school. Until last year I myself only knew exactly of two of the secrets, the third, a joint effort by the powers of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff is evident today in the Room of Requirement. Unlike their comrades, they valued giving something useful to the school, that while remaining secret, could still be found from time to time by certain people, to help them in anything from club meetings to midnight wanderings." Grinning Dumbledore gave a wink at Harry, though he found it hard to appreciate the humor at the moment.

"As for Gryffindor, he was disgusted by the prejudices of his once friend, and foresaw that such feelings could one day give birth to such people as Voldermort. And so he spent the rest of his life preparing one great gift for those who might seek to protect wizards and Muggles alike. He gave us the Hogwarts that few ever have seen."

Rising to his feet, Dumbledore rose to his feet and crossed in front of Harry to a nearby full length mirror on one side of the study. "Please follow me" and with that, he stepped through the mirror and disappeared from sight.

Turning to look at the others, they looked just as confused as he did as they stood up and approached the glass. Placing his fingers against it, Harry felt cool hard glass instead of some portal through which he could pass through.

"It might be like the train station mate, just try walking right through it." Ron's suggestion seemed sound, but Harry had his doubts. Though, he could see no reason for Dumbledore to pull some sort of trick on them about all of this, the thought helping to settle some of his doubts as he stepped towards the glass, meeting no resistance before stepping through back into Dumbledore's study. Waiting in a chair was Dumbledore, smiling a slight bit to Harry before motioning him over, warning him to move just in time to avoid being run over by Ginny and Hermione who came through a second later. In a moment, they had all appeared back in the study, and to state the obvious, quite confused about what was happening at the moment.

"I do believe the answer might come to you if you were to use this, Harry." Reaching into his robes, Dumbledore pulled out a piece of parchment and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." and passed it to Harry. Somehow, Dumbledore had gotten his hands onto the Marauders Map, though Harry had no idea how that were possible, given the map had still been in his trunk at the dorm when they had been summoned.

"I do hope you will not mind my borrowing your map Harry. I foresaw a need for it, as it is quite the incredible legacy you have acquired, and summoned it before we had our meeting. I believe that if you were to open it, you might be able to figure out in part as to what is going on."

Shooting Dumbledore a queer look, Harry quickly unfolded the parchment and let everyone take a look at the map. In the room that they stood were the markers for their names floating lazily on the paper, yet that was it. In the entire castle, not another name showed itself on the paper.

"Quite the incredible map. I do not believe that the Marauders knew exactly how well they had attuned that map to the charms of Hogwarts. Normally a map of the school would have no way of working while in this place, yet due to the brilliance of your father and his friends Harry, this will serve an invaluable tool for you in the trials to come."

"So you have brought us to another version of Hogwarts, Headmaster?" Everyone turned to look at Luna, sure she had gone crazy this time. Though, maybe they had gone crazy too, because that sounded like a good explanation. Harry couldn't even begin to ponder how much magic it would require to create a charm like that, especially one that could keep itself going for hundreds of years, surely it couldn't be possible. Though by the smile on Dumbledore's face, Harry feared he knew the answer even before Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed. And as you might be wondering, it is indeed impossible to create such a thing normally. Gryffindor was a very cunning man, perhaps one of the traits that had allowed he and Salazar to remain comrades so long, but he found a way to keep the charm alive long after his own death. So long as Hogwarts remains open, the students and the staff's ambient energy shall keep this charm from failing. It does not steal their energy, but rather the cast off energy from each spell, each bit of magic that escapes by our very living, is absorbed into this place to keep it's power active. When there is no one present in the castle, or in this version of the castle, it merely hibernates, and waits for the next magic user to enter the Hogwarts you are already familiar with."

"But Professor, doesn't a spell that uses such energy require a large release of life to begin. Surely he didn't..." Hermione's face had turned pale, her knowledge leading her to horrible conclusions.

"Indeed. Godric believed so strongly in creating a place that could prepare those who wished to help both Muggles and Wizards, that he gave his life in the final casting of the spell, leaving instructions and an oath for the current headmaster that would allow him to know of this place and it's purpose, and keep them from using it for wrong doings."

Hermione looked down, the tears starting to build again in her eyes. Harry doubted that the death of Godric Gryffindor was what had caused her to cry again, but the fresh reminder of death was enough to give them all a start as they tried to hold back their tears for another few moments.

"I believe it would be best if we all headed to the great hall to discuss further the purpose of this place, and how you are to spend your time here." Dumbledore turned and walked out the door, leaving the group to follow behind at a slow pace, perhaps wishing to give them time to regain control of their emotions before he continued.

Harry sighed. Why couldn't he just be allowed to have a normal wizarding life?

OoOoOo

Ginny's chest was a cauldron of different emotions right then. The pain of her mother's murder, the wonder at the place Dumbledore had taken them, the fear for what this meant for the next part of all their lives. She had to fight to keep herself from panicking from the sheer enormity of everything that had happened in the past few hours. Sneaking a glance at Harry, she wondered how he could appear to be so calm about all this. She knew he was being a complete git and was just hiding his feelings, but the fact that he could do it was something she envied right then. She just wanted to wake up and find out this was all a horrible nightmare, maybe her friends would shake her awake any moment seeing her thrashing in her bed or some such nonsense like that.

Shaking her head, Ginny cleared it. Running away from the truth would do her no good. All she had to do was make it until Dumbledore had finished his explanation's and then she could find some corner to cry in for the next few days, weeks, or however long it would take for the ache to subside in her chest. She would have to ignore how her other brothers must be suffering right now as well, and keep them safe by staying here. She wondered if Dumbledore would even tell them where she and Ron were going. Even though she knew that in order to keep this from Voldermort, he most likely would not, it gave her comfort to imagine that they would be happy to hear that they were going to be kept safe while preparing for the war. All she could wish for is that they would be safe and sound as well.

By the time they had reached the great hall, everyone seemed to have regained their composure, though she noticed that Hermione had at some point taken hold of Ron's hand in her own, and didn't seem ready to release it any time soon. Stepping through the giant doors, Ginny was a bit unsurprised to see that nothing was different about it. From the long table's and benches, to the high backed ornate chairs at the teachers table, it was a perfect replica of the hall that she had eaten and celebrated in for the past 5 years of her life.

Waving them up to the high table, Dumbledore waved his hand at the chairs as they pulled out and formed a circle well behind the table. Taking a seat, she looked expectantly at the headmaster as he took his time, seeming to gather his thoughts.

"First of all, I must apologize for withholding information from you until we have reached this place. Though I would of told you everything from the start, Godric has designed this place that the only area that I may reveal the secret of what this castle's charm is to do is in this room. You will be spending much of your time in this room, Harry, until you have grown stronger as a wizard. This castle made by Godric is a training course of sorts for wizards and witches who would wish to learn to take on the dark arts through lesser, though in no way less effective, means. You will find that after this conversation, that it will be exceedingly difficult for you to proceed anywhere in this castle as you might normally wish to do so."

Dumbledore gestured at the ceiling, his gaze falling upon each student. "Around and above us lie the many floors of Hogwarts. Most of them you know already, some you do not. Yet now that you are in this place, while Harry is out of this hall, or if one of you travels outside of this hall with him, you will find that the place has been trapped in all sorts of manners to incapacitate you and return you to this room. Though it will never directly injure you, you will find that these traps may come in different manners to waylay your progress. If you cannot leave this room, food will be brought here, and there is a small water closet off to the side, but that is all that you will receive while in here."

"But professor, can't I just use magic while in here to make things simpler for when I go out into all those traps? I can't imagine it would be that simple from how you talk of it." Taking his wand out, Harry tried a basic charm with it, yet nothing happened.

"As you have guessed Harry, this place is charmed so that no magic may be done with your wand. If someone else would care to test it, I believe you will find that this is the same for everyone else while in the hall as well."

Indeed, when Ginny tried to levitate one of the tables, nothing happened, as well as with everyone else who had similar problems with even the most simple of charms. "How ever will I manage to keep up on new animal sightings, then?" Dumbledore smiled at her, "I believe Ms. Lovegood, that you might have more surprises awaiting you when you return if you have a nice backlog of creatures to hear the discoveries of." This seemed to pacify Luna, and Dumbledore turned back to Harry. "As I was saying, Harry. Your wands shall serve you no purpose while in here, though out in the halls, it will be a valuable tool for managing to get anywhere. All I ask you to do is to learn how to survive outside of this hall for at least two weeks time without being brought back into this room, at which time, you will be ready for the final things I will need you to do in order to return. Simply head into the restricted book section and head to the very back, you will find a rather simple book on a pedestal, which you will take back to the study and read when you arrive there. All parts of Hogwarts are open to you, and I suggest you make use of that. Different parts of the castle have different things to teach you. Your friends may also move around the castle freely, so they will be an invaluable aid for bringing you supplies and study material from the library. I trust you realize that this is a very serious endeavor, and that every moment of study and exploring this castle may mean the extra chance of surviving this war, correct?"

Harry nodded and Dumbledore stood up. "That being the case, I must leave immediately to arrange for your disappearances in the other Hogwarts. I know you all worry about what others think, but I plead with you to do your best so that when you come back, you can become their shields against the dark magic that is growing. I shall keep them safe until your return." He gave them all one of his famous smiles, and Ginny felt some of her worries disappear when he turned to her. "I hope you all can support each other and learn well while here. Remember Harry, _you_ must be the most ready for what is to come, so please make Lily and James proud." With that, Dumbledore dissapperated, leaving them alone in the middle of the great hall, sad, alone, and very much tired from the days trials.

On silent agreement, the group found a carpeted portion of the great hall and laid out next to each other. Though they would remember the horrible dreams of imagining the deaths of their families when they woke, they were asleep the moment they had hit the floor, and did not wake until well into the next day.

**End Chapter 2**

Hopefully that was an okay chapter. Felt a bit contrived at points to me, but I have learned to listen to criticism. Please tell me what you think. And though it is early to say this, if anyone wishes to help beta my work before I post it, please email me. I am horrible about editing my own work, I tend to edit it to death since I end up dislike how things sound. So anyone who is willing to give contructive criticism and advice, then I would be very appreciative of the help. This is an endeavor to get better at writing and I intend to do whatever I can to get better and then share it with everyone.

Overvie for next chapter: More on the effects of everyone losing their families and how it will change their views on a lot of things and about each other. As well, the beginning of the action as Harry finds out just how hard it can be to take a simple stroll in school.

Until next time, stay safe and happy.


	3. Ravenclaw

I don't own much, especially not this.

Sorry, but mostly personal relations in this chapter. Action does occur, but wait until next chapter you action lovers, it will definitely appear.

The Charms of Gryffindor

By: Rylkan

Harry turned to the next page of "The Encyclopedia to Useful Charms", not really taking in what he was reading as he watched the rest of his small little group mill around. After waking up, Hermione had convinced them to take the day to study and rest before they began to explore. She had even decided to go to the library to pick up some reading for herself while Harry had merely asked her to bring him back some sort of learning material. When she had come back with the charms book and "Hogwarts. A History", Harry had kept his mouth shut. If Hermione had full access to the restricted section of the library and didn't even bring back on book from it, he knew that despite whatever she said, she was still reeling from the news.

Closing the book, he scanned the room, watching Luna and Neville engaging in some small talk close to the head table. Of the group, they seemed the first to be getting a hold of themselves in the face of what happened. He knew it would be foolish to say that they were getting over it, but he suspected both of them were accustomed with death or the possibility of it, that they were finding it the easiest to come to grips with what happened.

He could see that Hermione and Ron had also sat together and were whispering back and forth, for once not having a row. Every now and then Hermione would smile a little bit, and Ron would too, but mostly they seemed absorbed in their conversations. Harry was worried they would be worse off, but he knew that since they had gotten over the row from the last year, that they would help each other with whatever they were going through. Harry wanted to help them too, but given his role in what had happened, he wasn't sure that he would be the best person to try and find out how they were feeling.

And then there was Ginny.

She didn't have any of her close friends here with her besides Luna, and the other girl had found someone to help her in her grief in Neville. Instead she had been sitting at her normal place at the Gryffindor table and staring up at the ceiling, staying the same way for the past few hours. Harry had thought a few times of going over to her to try and see how she was doing, but again, he was stopped by the fear of hearing her say that she didn't want to talk to him. He had been the one to instigate this whole thing, and despite any words said otherwise, or logic, it was a feeling he couldn't shake. It was making him tense, and he was growing increasingly frustrated by it all. He was about ready to blow up from the pressure of his guilt, and his friends would only feel that he deserved it.

It wasn't for another hour or so of his mood getting worse before he saw his friends giving him worried glances. Once or twice he saw Luna or Ron make a motion to come talk to him before quietly pulled back by someone. In fact, of the group, the only one who seemed to be ignoring his mood was Ginny, and as the day wore on, the scowl on her face grew larger as her temper boiled at something underneath the surface as well.

It was by late afternoon that everything came to a head. Hermione had led Ron out of the hall, excusing them on the claim that they were going back to the library, and Neville and Luna had gone to see about the boundaries of the charm. All that left was Harry and Ginny alone in the great hall. It also seemed to Harry that if anything, she was even angrier than before, her cheeks beginning to turn the same deep red as her hair, a classic warning sign according to Ron. Seeing as how he was confined to the room, however, he would have to find someway to fix the problem, sorely missing the option to just run away until she cooled down.

"Um, Ginny, Look, I know.." he didn't even manage to finish his first statement before she shot up from her seat and stormed over to him.

"Sit, Potter!" She had her finger pointed in his face, and despite her being younger age, she had the feel of a parent berating an especially rotten child. "You have to be the world's biggest prat sometimes, don't you?!" Harry didn't say anything. Instead he looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze. He deserved this after what had happened, so he wouldn't try to argue his case, but would just let her get it out.

"Don't think you're getting out of it that easily. Look at me Harry!" Slowly he looked up to see Ginny glaring back at him. "How dumb do you take me for Harry?" Now Harry was downright confused, and Ginny went after that like a shark to the kill. "I bet you don't even think what you did was wrong, do you Harry? Can you tell me why everyone left at the first chance they could?"

Harry's surprise had faded, and his temper was starting to take over at this point. "Because I caused all of this! I killed Neville and Luna's parents, Hermione lost her only family because of me, and even Mrs Weasly died because of me! Of course they would want to be as far from me as possible!"

Harry saw the slap coming but didn't move out of the way, hardly regretting the sharp pain it had left in his cheek. Ginny's glared at him for a moment before turning around and heading for the door, when she reached it, she yelled back at him. "So I guess all we are to you Potter is a way to make yourself feel better when you find it convenient. Fine, but don't expect me to have any part of it." Pushing open the door, she stormed out.

It only took Harry half a second to start running after her. She had the entirely wrong impression, and if he didn't fix it now, it was likely that things might never be what they had before, and he couldn't stand the thought of Ginny hating him. As he passed through the doorway, though, he only got a few steps before he felt his body rise into the air. As if a giant hand had taken control of his entire body, he was tossed back into the room, a scream escaping from him as he was flung unceremoniously onto the floor about ten feet away from the door.

Harry lay there stunned for a second before he heard someone running towards him. Ginny had heard his scream, and seeing him sprawled out across the floor like that had come running back to him. "Are you all right, Harry?!"

Groaning, Harry sat up a hair too quickly, causing his head to spin for a moment before he decided to lie back down. "Yeah. Just a bit dazed."

Ginny sighed and sat down, taking Harry's head and placing it in her lap, her hands slowly going through his hair looking for any bumps or cuts. "Ginny, I really do care for all of you."

Ginny was silent for a moment, still slowly going slowly over her scalp. "I know Harry. I know why you said what you did, but we all accepted you as our friend. We knew the dangers as well as you did, and so did our parents, yet we still remained with you. I don't want you to not feel bad about their passing, just please don't think it was all your fault. All of us are to blame for it, but the only one at fault is Voldermort."

Harry closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her fingers through his hair as he mulled her words over. Opening his eyes, he gave her a weak smile. "You're quite intimidating when you're mad, you know that?"

Ginny beamed down at him. "Try living with six older brothers and you will learn how to strike fear into the heart of men as well."

"I think I've suddenly developed a strong sense of pity for Fred and George." Ginny laughed at him, taking her hands from his head but making no attempt at removing his head from her lap. "I'll try to not disappoint you guys anymore."

Ginny smiled down at him, Ginny's light brown eyes twinkling at him. "That's all we could ever ask for, Harry."

OoOoOo

It was another few minutes until Ron and Hermione returned to the great hall. Hermione seemed to be renewed with energy explained something to Ron, who caught eyes with Harry and gave him a look that seemed to plead with him to help him out. Harry nudged Ginny, breaking her train of thought from their previous discussion about the Weird sisters and pointed out the two.

They waited for the two to make it over to them before greeting them, and had to ask Hermione to slow down more than a few times as she described everything she saw in the restricted section of the library. She even began detailing a plan she had formulated for how they should begin their search of the castle with Harry in their party when she finally took the time to notice that Harry and Ginny were grinning at each other over her antics.

"Well, I see you two managed to sort things out? Is everything all right now?" Hermione looked mostly at Harry when she said this, and he got the distinct feeling that she was worried he would get angry at her for it, which made him feel even worse for his earlier behavior.

Ginny, however, grinned at Hermione before patting Harry on the back. "Godric took out my anger on him quite well, lucky for him he got out easy." From there, Hermione drilled Harry about what happened while Ron and Ginny walked off talking quietly, possibly about the rest of their family judging by the subdued tones.

About half an hour later, and two more times of having Harry reluctantly letting himself be thrown across the room, Neville and Luna walked in. Both of them looked dirty and tired, with the same slightly saddened expressions from earlier, but they still sported a smile.

Neville pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Hermione. "I kept track of it like you asked. It goes out to the edge of the forbidden forest and around the lake. Probably a good few hundred yards on average from the castle. After that, we can see more, but it wouldn't let us go further."

"Well, at least we won't be stuck in the castle forever. Though, Harry, you might want to be careful, I wouldn't be surprised if the outside were charmed too, and it may be worse than things like this door." Neville looked surprised, and Luna looked mildly interested by that, and while Hermione explained what happened again, at the end of which, Luna looked decidedly bored. To Harry, that was a sure sign that she must of figured something out, long since learning that the girl had amazing insight, even it her common sense seemed to be more than a little...different, than he was used to.

"Do you have any ideas Luna?" asked Harry, looking at her as she slowly looked at him.

"I don't know why all of you are so surprised over a simple Levitation charm, most animals use something like that to protect their nests in nature, you know. I hear some muggle animals even know how to do it, we published an article about it in the Quibbler some time back."

Hermione's jaw dropped as she rushed back to the door, grabbing onto Harry's sleeve and pulling him over to the door. "Harry, as soon as you step through that door, I want you to cast a levitation charm on yourself, alright?" Harry just gave Hermione a look like she had gone mad. "You know that it's too much effort to lift one's own body with a levitation charm Hermione, what good is going to do me?"

She sighed and pointed out the door. "Yes, it is too much work to lift yourself, but you can make sure you're pinned to the ground, no? Honestly, if you listened at all to Professor Flitwick our first year, you would remember how he spoke of people using this charm on themselves to control their falls, Harry."

Shooting the rest a pleading look, he was met with their shrugs, everyone knew that once Hermione had begun in on something, it was nearly impossible to escape it until you did what she want. Even the silently mouthed 'Good Luck' from Ginny did little to ease the butterflies in his stomach as he pulled his wand and stood in front of the opened doors. Taking a deep breath, Harry rushed out of the entrance way at a dead run and as soon as he could, began casting the charm on himself, feeling his own magic surge through him. Keeping his wand fixed on the ground ahead of him as the target for where the charm would take him, he didn't even realize that he hadn't taken off from the ground until he was some twenty feed away from the door.

He let out a large whoop of excitement, as did the others. He had managed to get past the first challenge of Godric's test, and it hadn't even taken him a full day to do so. The feeling had him so relieved that he didn't even notice as a large bubble full of water appeared over his head, letting loose all of it's contents to the point where Harry had to shut his eyes to keep them from being pounded by the water. When the water had stopped, and he opened his eyes, he found himself standing back in the great hall, shivering and wet.

Shivering, he went back to the door to try again.

OoOoOo

The few months was busy for Harry and the others. He spent each day trying to make it another few feet away from the great hall as he slowly memorized the traps, only in the past few days making it outside of the castle. Though they had expected some sort of traps outside, Godric had seemed to of left the area around the castle free of various charms, allowing Harry to have a place to relax and escape from the now oppressive walls of the great hall.

Beyond the few times Hermione had let them take a break outside though, the rest of the time had been spent on increasing their understanding of magic, and the speed of their casting. Though Harry never expected to be the fastest spell caster, he and his friends had grown much faster with the charms that they were being made to use daily, much more confident with the castings as well.

Most of the time Harry traveled the hallways with at least two others, giving them a chance to experience the spells along with him and to give him insight, but sometimes at night, the need to explore and be on his own overtook him. He suspected they knew about his nightly excursions, but as of yet, no one had mentioned it to him, so he kept on his purpose, pushing the thought of the eventual confrontation from his mind.

Side stepping a charmed statue, Harry reached the room he had been looking for. On the first floor of Hogwarts there was one large classroom located on the far side of the castle away from the great hall. It was a few days ago that he, along with Hermione and Neville, had reached the room, only to find it locked.

While he had wanted to unlock the door and see what was inside, Hermione had suggested that they finish up the rest of the first floor before going in. At the time he had given in, but his curiosity had been haunting him since then, finally bringing him to where he stood right now.

Taking out his wand, he pointed it at the lock and performed the unlocking spell, waiting for a moment to see if anything happened. When nothing happened, he slowly opened the door until there was just enough room for him to slip in and sidle against the wall. After so many traps, he wasn't going to risk being sent back to the great hall this early into the evening.

The room was dark and Harry couldn't hear anything in the room, which didn't mean much to Harry after the past few weeks, but it did put him at ease somewhat. Stepping forward, he pulled out his wand and whispered a spell to illuminate his wand. The desks and tables were nowhere to be seen, and at the end of the large lecture hall stood a statue of a giant raven. Harry slowly made his way to the statue, and upon reaching it, took a moment to admire it. It was beautifully crafted, the stone chiseled with detail down to the lines and layering of the wings. It appeared ready to come to life without the aid of spells, and it's gaze appeared intelligent, staring down upon him.

Drawing his hand over the statue, Harry jumped when he heard the door behind him close. Spinning around he saw Ginny, who was staring wide eyed at the statue. "What are you doing here, Ginny?" he enjoyed Ginny's company, but sometimes everyone else seemed to forget that he may want to have some time to himself as well. "You should be in the great hall sleeping with the others."

Ginny tore her gaze from the statue and walked to Harry's side before looking at him. "I could say the same thing. Any reason you decided to go out at night alone, again I might add?" Her tone wasn't critical, instead just showing mild curiosity, and Harry relaxed a bit when he realized he wouldn't have to try to excuse his actions.

"You're all great friends to me, Ginny, but sometimes I just need a bit of time by myself. Besides, if the worst that happens is a few scraps and bruises before I am sent back to the hall, I figure it's a good trade." She nodded at him and placed her hand on his arm. "I understand Harry. Remember, I lived with six older brothers, privacy can be nice. But could you please at least let me know you're going out so we won't worry? I've convinced the others that nothing is going on, but if they wake up and see you missing much more, they're going to think you've moved into the bathroom permanently."

He grinned at her, "Fair enough. Good thing it was you though, Hermione was adamant about not coming in her for now, though I can't tell why. I mean, it's odd how there are no charms set up in this room. I can't help but feel that the puzzle is this statue somehow, but I have no idea what it might be."

She was about to reply to him when Harry felt the need to move. Without explaining, he grabbed Ginny and ran away from the statue, making it about halfway down the length of the room before a shower of stone filled the room. Acting quickly, Harry put up a shield charm around him and Ginny to shield them from the debris. Whatever was going on, this was much more dangerous than what he had faced before. The rocks were not magical, and if they had hit him or Ginny, they could have been seriously injured. "Ginny, wand out and be ready when I take the shield down, alright?" He tried to keep his voice calm, and he saw Ginny swallow deeply before nodding. Letting go of the charm, Harry saw a giant raven making a dive for them. "DOWN!"

Harry and Ginny launched themselves to opposite sides, narrowly avoiding the large raven's attack. Despite it's size, the Raven somehow found a way to pull up before hitting anything, and flew back into the rafters, circling overhead, staring down curiously at him and Ginny.

"Harry! The door is gone!" Ginny's words caused Harry's hopes to drop. He had wanted to try and escape until they knew better what to do, but it seemed that for now whatever Godric had in store them, it was going to be done right here and now. He nodded at her to let her know he had heard and kept his want trained on the raven, even as Ginny came to his side and aimed hers at it as well.

The raven cocked it's head to a side and let out a strangled sound right as the floor underneath their feet turned into something akin to quicksand. Harry didn't doubt for a second that it was the doing's of the bird, though, as it made some sick attempt at laughter at their plight.

He was struggling to think of what to do to escape the sand when he felt Ginny's magic grab him, using her power to lift him out of the sand and onto solid stone. Quickly, he did the same for her, his mind going a mile a minute, coming up with a plan after her quick thinking.

Making it to her side was simple, as the bird seemed content for the moment to just watch them, and he had more than enough chance to lean down by her ear and whisper her instructions to her, all the while she just nodded as she kept an eye out on the bird.

When he finished, Ginny took off to the other side of the room at a dead run, Harry covering her by firing as many hexes and jinx's he could imagine at the bird. While none of them seemed to have any effect, it did keep it busy long enough for it to forget about Ginny, and turned it's attention to him instead.

He stood still, keeping his eyes on the bird, waiting for the moment that the bird might use a spell. He didn't even think about how he would know without a wand, but instead decided to gamble on it, and when the moment felt right, he moved. At that time, a great gust of wind tore threw wear he had been standing, strong enough that it would of undoubtedly sent him flying hard into a wall. Yet Harry ignored how close he was to the spell and cast his own charm. Behind the bird, Ginny rose into the air, wand in her hand as she shot charms at the surrounding rafters, causing them to twist around and hold the bird tight. Seeing her cast a charm to make herself lighter as well as the levitation charm, Harry let his own go, and focused on the bird. If it could cast spells like it had, the only time they had to stop it was while it was surprised by what happened.

Taking a deep breath, he three all of his magic into the constructed bird. It was as a rule that destroying someone else's magic tended to be much harder, and he wasn't going to risk the thing ever moving again while he had the chance to stop it. It only took a moment, but the bird's movement stopped dead, the life being taken out of the charmed creature.

He let out a giant sigh of relief and sat down, letting his heart slow down before he dared moving, knowing he would fall down if he tried. Ginny managed to make it over to him before she too slumped down beside him. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, avoiding looking at each other. "Maybe we should listen to Hermione, huh?" said Harry suddenly. She nodded and turned around to look at the door. "I guess that means we can go back, doesn't it?"

Standing up, they made their way back to the hall, no traps were set off on the way back, and when they slumped down next to the others, he saw Hermione was awake and gave him an odd look. Harry just pulled his blanket up and mouthed to her that he would explain later, and then he fell blissfully asleep.

OoOoOo

Harry was the last one to wake up the next morning. In fact, he would of enjoyed quite the sleep in if Neville hadn't woken him up, pointing at Hermione and Ginny arguing on the far side of the room. Harry gave Neville a confused look at the other boy shrugged. "Hermione's been like that since Ginny woke up. It's only been going on for a few minutes though, and it seems like it involves you, so I thought I should wake you up."

"Thanks mate." Harry stood up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He had a feeling he knew exactly what this was all about, yet he was unsure why Hermione was yelling at Ginny instead of himself about his late night outing.

He came up behind Hermione just in time to see Ginny looking down at the floor, looking embarrassed. "You know Harry listens to you, Ginny. If you knew he was going out, you should of convinced him to wait for all of us. I know he wants some privacy, but he could of always asked that we left him alone outside or something. Instead he goes off and nearly gets himself killed by weird statues in the middle of the night. Do you really want him to get injured just because he didn't want to have to ask to be alone for awhile?"

Harry cleared his throat, causing Ginny to look up at him, shooting him a shocked expression as her cheeks began to blush. Hermione spun around to face him, her expression a mix of guilt for being caught talking about him while the other part held onto her anger from a moment ago. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Ginny turned around and walked off, going through the doors, leaving Hermione and Harry alone.

He raised a hand up to Hermione, stopping her from whatever it was she wanted to say. Taking a deep breath, he made sure to have control of his emotions before speaking. "Hermione. I appreciate your concern for my safety, and no, I am not angry at you for it. I am angry at you for what you said to Ginny though. That was cruel and manipulative, no matter your reasons. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go clean up your mess." Without looking at her, Harry walked out of the hall. He knew it was pretty horrible of him to say all of it, but he didn't care. Normally he would of let his temper get away with him, and she would back off but not learn. Maybe this time, when faced with the darker side of what her personality could reap, she would learn to act a bit differently. He loved Hermione as a friend, but she could be as dense as Ron about how to deal with people sometimes.

Harry hoped he knew Ginny as well as he thought as he headed towards the main entrance of Hogwarts.

OoOoOo

Ginny leaned back into the bleachers of the Quidditch stadium, letting the breeze play across her face as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Hermione's words had played at a sense of guilt that had been building up since last night. She had known for awhile that Harry left at night sometimes, and she had decided to let it be, even though she knew it could be dangerous. Without both of them having been there last night, she wasn't sure that Harry could of beaten that statue by himself, and all because she had not done the right thing.

"Hard to believe it's been 3 months already, huh?" looking up she saw Harry standing next to her, looking nervously back at her. He probably was very much not in his element, trying to sort through a girls feelings, but still, the thought was enough to make Ginny feel a bit better, and she scooted over to show him that he could sit down. "Yeah. Perfect flying weather too, I wonder how Gryffindor did this year with so many players absent."

He took the seat next to her and seemed to deflate a bit at the thought that they may of cost their house the cup. Ginny placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well, what we're getting ready to do is more important than a Quidditch cup, so don't feel bad, alright Harry?"

Turning to look at her he started to laugh a little bit, "It's funny how I come out here to help you and in ends up the other way around. You must get annoyed at always having to deal with my black moods, sorry about that."

She shook her head and gave Harry a serious look. "I know you have been through a lot. That doesn't give you license to be a prat about it, but you would be insane to not let it get to you sometimes. You just have to remember that we all make mistakes and move on."

He smiled at her before leaning back and looking up at the sky. "Sounds like you could use the same advice. It was my choice to leave at night, and I think Hermione will think twice about who she yells at again. If I ever decide to sneak out at night for a bit of fun, I'll make sure to bring you along from now on."

Ginny turned to see Harry grinning mischievously at her. Would the wonders never cease, Harry Potter was flirting with her openly. "So you can corner me in some dark classroom, just you me and a crazed statue or two? I still remember my promise about showing you how that hex is supposed to be used." She grinned back at him, her tone light and joking despite the slight reprieve. Amazingly, he didn't even miss a beat, "Might work in scaring off the statue, you can be scary when you're mad."

They both laughed before moving on to more mundane topics, enjoying the nice weather as well as each others company before finally deciding to go back into the castle to try and fix the damage from earlier that morning. When they made it back into the hall, Ron pulled Harry off to the side. He seemed angry until Harry and he exchanged a few words, though Ron still looked a bit unsatisfied, and she was about to ask when Hermione threw herself into Ginny's arms, a crying mess. Looking to Harry for support, he gave her a weak smile, inclining his head in apology.

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl, ushering her over to a corner of the room before sitting her down, waiting for the older girl to get a hold of herself.

"I'm sorry Ginny! Harry's right, I was cruel to you and I'm sorry," she finally got out after a long bout of sniffles. Ginny waited until Hermione looked her in the eye and nodded. "Yes, you were. But everyone makes mistakes, as someone who's made quite a few I should know. And I forgive you, just think about other people's feelings before you start in on them again, all right?"

Hermione nodded weakly, returning a small smile at Ginny before Ron and Harry came over, Neville and Luna trailing them in discussion of some animal featured in the Quibbler last Luna had read it. Ginny gave Harry a smile, and he returned the message.

It was good to be with family.

**End Chapter**

I will be the first to admit I suck at dialog scenes. I feel much more comfortable with action, and have quite a bit planned for this story, but I want to practice at dealing with interactions between people. I see a lot of places I can improve, but due to a lack of time and the desire to see where this story leads me, I will not immediately fix these things, but try and incorporate them into later chapters.

To those who wonder where the action is, that will be next chapter. Mostly I am setting the stage for their eventual wartime activities, which will be a great deal more action.

To those who care for more Harry/Ginny goodness, I leave you with the vote. I can either go one of two paths. One of these will mean you get to see fluff sooner then action, the other means more action that leads to fluff. I am leaning towards action then fluff, but your opinion is appreciated.


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